Adamawa Emirate

Cameroon, 1809–1903. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Adamawa Emirate is a traditional state located in Fombina, an area which now roughly corresponds to areas of Adamawa State and Taraba state in Nigeria, and previously also in the three northern regions of Cameroon. Modibo Adama was a commander of Sheikh Usman dan Fodio, the man who began the Fulani jihad in 1809. At the time of the death of Adama his realm encompassed parts of modern Nigeria and much of north Cameroon. Much like the other emirates in the Sokoto Caliphate, Adamawa enjoyed considerable autonomy but it had to pay a tribute to the Sultan in Sokoto.

Seat of power: Yola

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The name Adamawa derives from the name of the founder of the emirate, Adama bii Ardo Hassan. Fombina means 'southlands' indicating the area south of Bornu and Sokoto.
• According to some estimates, by the late 19th century, slaves constituted about 50% of the population of the Fulɓe-ruled Adamawa Emirate.
• Early British administrators reporting from Yola put the surface area of Adamawa at between 35,000 and 40,000 square miles.
• As a result of European treaties in 1893 and 1894, parts of the emirate can today be found in Chad, the Central African Republic, Nigeria and Cameroon, which retained about three-quarter of the total area of the emirate.

Picture

The city of Ngaoundéré dates from around 1835, when it was founded by the Fulani leader Ardo Njobdi.

Image: Ruediger Nassauer, CC0, file

Sources

• Adamawa Emirate (Wikipedia)
• Adamawa Emirate (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.